1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a wire organizer for separating and restraining wires routed through an electronic device. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a wire organizer adapted to permit pre-positioning of discrete wires for use in an over-molded electrical junction assembly.
2. Background of Related Art
Wiring for electronic devices such as instruments found in the surgical arts requires organization, for example, to promote efficient manufacturing and maintenance. The various electronic components found in these instruments include circuit boards and power connectors that often involve many discrete and closely spaced contacts facilitating electrical communication with other components. A component may receive inputs at these contacts through wires routed from any number of sources and similarly provide outputs to any number of destinations. When several wires are required to be routed through an instrument along a similar path, an electrical cable is often used to maintain a grouping of the wires.
An electrical cable typically consists of a core of discrete wires and a dielectric sheath or jacket covering and protecting the core. Each discrete wire includes a conductor for transmitting an electrical potential and may also include an insulation layer for electrically isolating the conductor from other conductors in the cable. In a round cable, the discrete wires may be arranged in a radial pattern such that the cable takes on a circular cross section. In contrast, conductors in a flat cable or flexible circuit are often arranged in a side-by-side relationship. It is often necessary to connect the conductors in a round cable to contacts arranged in a side-by-side relationship. Also, it is often convenient to complete such a connection at a point in the manufacturing process well after the cable and flexible circuit are assembled.
One such instance is in the manufacturing of a surgical instrument such as the endoscopic forceps described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/540,335 by Patrick L. Dumbauld. In this particular application, several discrete signal wires emerging from the dielectric sheath of a round cable are electrically coupled to side-by-side solder terminals extending from a flexible circuit. One solder terminal is reserved for connection to a wire more conveniently routed outside the cable, while several power wires routed inside the cable must be re-directed away from the solder terminals almost immediately after exiting the dielectric sheath. In this relatively complex environment for an electrical junction, several process failures may occur. These include wire pinching, crushing, partial wire encapsulation, and leak path creation through an over-mold intended to protect the connection.